Originally Posted by
lotuz
I made that comment, and I apologize if I offended anyone. I was looking for the right word and maybe "distasteful" was too strong. I was not talking about anyone specifically, and on a board with many collectors who have multiple copies of many books, I was probably bound to offend someone.
The context of this comment was in a conversation about having more copies of deluxe books so that a larger number of book collectors could enjoy them. My feeling is that the amount of additional pleasure that a collector would derive from purchasing a second or more copy of a very rare lettered edition is less than the amount of pleasure that a different collector would derive from purchasing their first copy of such an edition. So when I see a set of 4 books that were printed in an edition of 26, and they are all owned by one person, what I feel is that "Wow, there are three collectors out there who would each derive much more pleasure from owning a single copy than this person probably derives from owning 4 copies." So to me it represents a net negative utility to the "collecting community" as a whole, especially when the amount of money involved may be very substantial to one of the people that does not own that lettered edition but wished they did.
I should also add that part of this feeling is due to the extremely limited nature of these books - when I see multiples of a first edition, or a numbered edition, that doesn't bug me. In fact I own multiples of some first editions and multiples of some numbered editions. I also wouldn't apply this to things like alternative bindings, or prototypes, specially remarqued books, etc. So the universe of books that I am talking about is really just the ultra-rare lettered editions.
I know that I am treading a line here because obviously you are very well off Alec and also obviously you own multiple lettered editions, so talking about less well off collectors saving for months or years to own one copy of a book that you may own multiple copies of probably feels pretty personal for you, and my intent was most certainly not to personally offend you. In fact I find it very commendable that you are sourcing books to other collectors, and everything in this thread and that everyone has said leads me to believe that you are a very nice person. I enjoy looking at your collection thread and I also agree with much of the content you post on the site as well as your very respectful tone.
To the point of "If they are for sale.. who cares who buys them?" let's take an extreme example: say that someone, somehow, purchased all 26 copies of the Suntup Edition of Misery that was coming out. You wouldn't have a problem with that? As a collector, would you not empathize with all of the other collectors on this board who wished they could own a copy, and were prepared to buy a copy, but could not? As part of the rare tribe of bibliophiles that are left in this world, I do care who buys them because I want the books to be enjoyed by more people, and to foster a wider appreciation of an art form that in some ways is dying off.
Again, these are my personal feelings and there are very good reasons why my personal feelings do not dictate how life actually works or how other people should feel. And I don't like offending anyone, even on the internet, which is why I struggled with the right word to use there, and, again, maybe "distasteful" was too strong. I don't apologize for having my own opinion on this issue but I do apologize if I aired it in a way that caused undue offense to other collectors on this board.
I also do not want to distract from your very nice collection thread Alec so if you would like me to remove this comment, I will, with my apologies.